Amy Rees Anderson

Amy Rees Anderson

experience

Today was one of those days where when it comes to an end you just want to curl up in a ball and cry because you’ve had one thing after another pile on you so fast and furious you don’t even feel like you have time to breathe, let alone catch a potty break or …

“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again… So why bother in the first place? Just this: what is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above… One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is …

I’ve been known to be the first girl out on the dance floor, the girl who can’t sit still if she’s bored, a leader, an entrepreneur, a public speaker, a writer, and a philanthropist. What I am not known to be is a girl who does anything that requires walking long distances, running even short …

“Fear is an idea crippling, experience-crushing, success-stalling inhibitor inflicted only by yourself.” – Stephanie Melish We are the ones who create our own fears. We decide what we are afraid of by the thoughts we allow into our minds. We think our fears into existence and then we allow them to exist and grow in …

I decided to start something called a flashback Friday where I will once in awhile on a Friday repost a blog from the past. You know, the oldies but goodies. So this blog below was one I wrote back in March of 2013: I have been walking for…well let’s see…yeah, about 40 years now. And …

Whenever I have a big to-do list I find myself sitting and staring at it like I’m a deer in the headlights wondering “where do I even begin?”… Overwhelmed by the question of where to begin the list almost always leads to procrastinating on starting anything on the list…and procrastinating inevitably leads to feeling down …

“If you’re gonna do it, you gotta own it!” That’s what my daughter yelled out to her now husband as he and her brother were talking about whether he should do a funny dance number at her wedding reception a week ago. She pointed out that anytime you are going to do something public like …

Well I’m about as prepared as I know how to be for this weeks wedding festivities. I’ve planned every detail, I’ve done Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint galore showing each vendor exactly what to do and how things should look when it comes together. I’ve done timelines and checklists that map out every minute of the …

I’m sure I’ve shared this poem at some point before but it was on my mind today so I had to share it again. When I’ve had a long day and I’m tired and find myself still awake and still needing to write a daily blog and it’s already 3am in the morning and I …

A eulogy is those words that will be spoken at your funeral someday reflecting back on the person you were, the things you accomplished, the things you did for others, and the example your life set and the legacy it has left behind. Have you ever sat and thought about writing your own eulogy? Taking a …

I’m sure I’ve probably posted this particular poem before, but it kept going through my mind today and given that I always try to let my blog reflect something I learned that day I decided to share it again: ANYWAY People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people …

“Every song begins with a blank page.” – Pasek & Paul This evening I had the incredible opportunity to go and hear Pasek & Paul, songwriters of The Greatest Showman movie, speak and perform at Utah Valley University ( UVU ). Now I was a HUGE fan of The Greatest Showman movie and soundtrack already, …

Sometimes you read something that says what you are thinking more perfectly than you could say it yourself – that’s how I felt when I read this poem by Michael Josephson, whom I had never heard of until someone showed me this poem , but I like the message of his poem so much I’m …

I will keep my words short today because I want you all to watch this video. I know it’s five minutes but I promise you it is worth the time to watch this entire video – don’t fast forward any of it – I promise…you’ll be glad you watched it. When things get tough, remember …

Today I was blessed to have two new people come into my life, and as soon as we all sat down for lunch I knew there wasn’t anything accidental about our being introduced to one another. It was clear to me that these two amazing women, who I felt an instant bond of friendship with, …

Just as 2017 passed us by in a flash, 2018 will do the same if we don’t take control of our calendar right now…BEFORE it starts filling up all on its own. And believe me when I say that Calendars have a funny way of doing that. They start out looking fresh and full of …

Today’s post is a guest post from my daughter Ashley. She said if I stayed up late to watch a movie with her tonight she would write a blog for me so here it is: “Buttery Flakey Crust” For those of you who haven’t seen this video of a commercial being made, please take a …

Over the years I have had a lot of college students and young entrepreneurs who have asked to meet with me to seek my advice about different business idea they have come up with. I couldn’t count the total number of people I have met with over the years to hear their idea and then …

Today I was honored to introduce one of my personal heroes, Alan Hall, for a speech he gave at Utah Valley University’s Executive Lecture Series. Alan Hall is someone I have had the honor of knowing for many years and he has been a significant influence in my life and is an incredible example to …

Tomorrow I will turn 46 years old. 46…why does that sound SO old? I suppose its because I remember as a child looking at adults who were 46 years old and thinking “they are SO OLD” 😉 Most past birthdays I have dreaded getting another year older, and I suppose there is a big part …

“Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” – C. S. Lewis There are so many ways to off-track in life, and so many of them happen through a series of poor smaller choices that end up leading to big mistakes, but …

“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.” – Anthony Robbins Our minds are powerful things. They can convince we are strong and capable or they can convince us we are …

“You are the books you read, the films you watch, the music you listen to, the people you meet, the dreams you have, the conversations you engage in. You are what you take from these. You are the sound of the ocean, the breath of fresh air, the brightest light and the darkest corner. You …

“To create something exceptional, your mindset must be relentlessly focused on the smallest detail.” –Giorgio Armani There is something incredible about creating. I don’t know exactly how to describe the feeling, but when you are in the process of creating something there is an excitement and an energy that is so amazing to get caught …

Saturday morning I awoke to a phone call alerting me that my son Dalton and his pregnant wife Alexis had been in a car accident on the freeway. Getting that phone call was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. I rushed to the Hospital Emergency Room where I spent the rest of …

“Stop trying to fit in when you were born to stand out.” – unknown I believe that every person born on this earth is born with special God-given talents and that it is our job to then discover those talents by trying all kinds of different things and as we discover our gifts we should …

“Maybe it won’t work out. But maybe seeing if it does will be the best adventure ever.” That’s a quote we all needed to hear! I love it because it totally reminds us to have courage to go ahead and try things, even when we aren’t feeling totally sure that it is going to turn …

I call it the “I’ll be happy when…” syndrome. It starts subtly but it spreads quickly. It goes something like this: I’ll be happy when I finish this project, or, I’ll be happy when I can afford to buy _____, or, I’ll be happy when I can lose ten pounds, or, I’ll be happy when …

“A funeral is not a day in a lifetime, it’s a lifetime in a day.” One thing in life is certain, and that is that each of us will eventually pass on from this life. When that day comes for each of us, the best we can hope for is to have words spoken about …

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend! Welcome back!! This is a monumental week for the world as the United States undergoes the transition to new leadership. I believe this week can down in history in one of two ways – it can either go down in history as having been a week to …